Vendor Spotlight: My Friendship Bracelet Maker

Do you remember the days of making friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss? I remember sitting in Mrs Wilson’s 6th grade class with a knotted bunch of embroidery floss taped down to the inside of my desk (so the teacher wouldn’t see it) or pinned to my jeans. I either ended up with a pile of tape from having to re-tape and re-tape (why didn’t I use duct tape?) or a hole in my pants (much to my mother’s chagrin!).

It appears that embroidery floss friendship bracelets are making a fashion comeback, and technology and the crafty mind have finally caught up!

Let me introduce you to My Friendship Bracelet Maker. What a fun little gadget!! I received the green and teal “peace sign clipboard” version, which is just fabulous!

My 2nd grade son is starting to become aware of all of the fads, and he definitely knows what friendship bracelets are. Since he is into all-things-crafty, he was a very willing guinea pig!

While he was picking some colors from the embroidery floss that came in the kit, I checked out our new gadget. Actually, I was praying that instructions would be included, because it has been a very long time since 6th grade and I could NOT remember what I was doing.

Imagine my relief when I pulled out the cardboard insert that conveniently slides into the back of the clipboard (major bonus points!) to discover instructions!! With pictures!! {whew!}

I got the bracelet started, and after that, it was just a matter of playing the role of patient mommy while trying to teach my impatient 7-year old how to hold the strings and pull the knot just so (Mommy’s a little picky. Yikes!).

After a single row of knots, he was bored. Okay, so it may have been my “attention to detail” and the fact that a movie was playing in the background that threw off my perfect little tutorial session. OR, it may be because the 6+ age recommendation is actually for girls (hey, I would have eaten this up at age 6) rather than the “all-action-all-the-time” boys who live in my house. Perhaps I’ll try this experiment again in a couple of months. I can tell you that this is certainly an “interest may vary by child” kind of craft.

In all fairness to my son, he is cheering me on as I complete his friendship bracelet and eagerly awaiting the time when he gets to wear it!!

Let me break down my crafty opinion for you.

Pros:

Comes in great colors and styles. Our version is not girly at all (yay!), however it does come in a pretty butterfly, pink and purple style!

The peace sign clip is SO stinkin’ cool!! It holds the strings quite nicely and slides up and down according to how long your bracelet is. No more holes in my jeans or piles of tape in my desk!

The numbered slots for the different strings is awesome. Not only does this ensure that I don’t lose my place if I get distracted, but it also keeps things nice and organized if I have to put the project down.

SUPER convenient storage for instructions. LOVE that the instructions are not loose.

This would be absolutely perfect for a road trip (provided your child doesn’t get car sick!) or for any time when your child has to sit quietly (think airplanes, meetings or a doctor’s waiting room).

Nice hole at the top for hanging storage.

Cons:

The instructions included in my version are only for the standard, straight across bracelet, however the diagonal version is what is pictured as the final product. Confusing. I’m feeling a bit dorky trying to figure out how they did that. I would imagine that there are additional lessons on their great website, though!

I’m wondering how to store my bracelet and it’s many dangling strings as I finish up my project. It would be awesome if there was some way to hold them in place. Perhaps a small clip at the bottom? I don’t know.

Over all, I think this is a wonderfully clever little gadget that is sure to come in handy when my son jumps on the friendship bracelet fad. Oh, and you bet that I’ll be taking it with me on the long airplane ride this holiday season! It could be this mama’s saving grace!!

7 Responses to Vendor Spotlight: My Friendship Bracelet Maker

Looks very interesting. My 8 yr old daughter would love this since she loves making friendship bracelets for her friends out of beads. Where can these friendship bracelet makers be purchased? And how much are they?

Looks cute and fun. I wonder if my 8th grader would be interested. I will have to ask her. I will repeat what Christel asked: Where can we purchase these and how much are they? A reasonable price would certainly sway me to consider a purchase. Thanks!Cheers,StacyAKA:Aznewmom@yahoo.com(STILL can’t seem to get my google acct to work. Grrrrrrr!)

I was too much of a klutz back in school and could never figure out how to make one of these friendship bracelets and have it turn out with a cool design. What I needed back then was a gadget like this! Thanks for the review—I had no idea a product like this was out there.